Swimming – The Orbital

The journey of ‘self-discovery’ in sport

22Jun

By Peter VighNo Comments

Sports & Socs

The journey of ‘self-discovery’ in sport

Who are you? A question often asked but rarely answered. One which is simple in theory, complex in nature and, dare I say it, feared in discovery. It’s cringe, I know, but the journey to discovering the ‘self’ begins with solitude. What’s better solitude than swimming up and down a pool alone? It's lonely; solo sports frequently are. Boxing and swimming are considered the loneliest sports, haunting you with the process of self-reflection. I know because I have been haunted by that ghost. As a swimmer, I know the mental challenge a lonely sport can throw upon you. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, from love to hate and everything in between. A journey which makes you struggle to love the sport you pour your life into. Nobody can skip this journey. Michael Phelps and...

17Sep

By Louisa WicksNo Comments

Sports & Socs

A Summer of Sport

The summer of 2017 has been extremely successful, both for world sport as a whole and also for British sport. With 3 world championships in the space of a month, athletes and swimmers were able to showcase their talents to audiences in both the UK and Hungary, as well as TV viewers worldwide. Following the success of the British athletes at the Olympic Games in 2016, the world championship teams were obviously eager to keep the success going. And the world was not disappointed. World Para Athletics Championships British Athletics got off to a flying start at London Stadium, as the World Para Athletics Championships got underway. Ending the competition with an amazing 39 medals, Team GB proved that their para athletes are getting stronger every year. One of the stars of the championsh...

Plans to Bring a Swimming Pool to Egham Town Centre

1Mar

By No Comments

News

Plans to Bring a Swimming Pool to Egham Town Centre

Anna Robinson reports on further redevelopment plans for Egham town centre. Following the announcement of plans to redevelop Egham town centre, Runnymede Borough council is now asking for feedback on plans to build a new leisure facility, with a swimming pool and health spa. The first public consultation was held on Saturday January 28, from 10am to 4pm, to give the chance for Egham residents to feedback, offering a local perspective on the developments. This is an exciting prospect for the small suburb, not only for local Egham residents, but also for students at Royal Holloway. Royal Holloway Swimming Club currently trains a 10-minute drive away, at Bishopsgate Pool, so having a pool closer to campus could mean exciting things for the success of the ever-growing club, as well as ot...

1Nov

By No Comments

Sports & Socs

Swimming Soc Conquers Kilimanjaro

This summer the Royal Holloway Swimming Club took to the sky, flying all the way out to Africa to take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The dormant volcano in Tanzania reaches a staggering height of 5895m, as the highest mountain in Africa it has become a popular climb since it was first ascended in 1889. Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest free standing mountain, to climb it is physically and mentally gruelling, it really is an incredible feat. I spoke with Swimming Club President, Isaac Kenyon about their incredible achievement, the journey they made and how it felt to reach the highest peak of Kilimanjaro. “In September, we just decided off the beat, lets do something as a club. We worked with Challenges Abroad and the FutureSense Foundation. There were 10 of us t...

26Feb

By No Comments

Sports & Socs

An Update From Swimming

This year swimming has most definitely been the dark horse of RHUL sport, and it’s only just getting started. Despite being relatively unknown, the club has seemingly grown in strength-to-strength, attaining the highest intake of members in its history and gaining an ever-increasing reputation. Over first term, competitors partook in the annual BUCS Short Course Championships at Sheffield, securing the club’s most successful set of results to date, as well as boasting our very first finalist. The Southern division BUCS competition, where we ventured out to Norwich, was also a successful day of competing where the club was left within fingertip distance of being promoted up a division. This month will see our competitors once again head back to Sheffield to hopefully get their hands on som...

18Nov

By No Comments

Sports & Socs

#BearsDay- An update from Swimming

RHUL Swimming is a friendly club that welcomes all competitive and leisure swimmers. As a club we are constantly growing, having increased membership by 40% since last year. Our 1st competition this year happened 2 weeks ago at Surrey Sports Park against Surrey! This was our first intercollegiate competition ever, winning 4/15 races including some fun races! Here is a cheeky race video: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=384347561722051&pnref=story Last weekend swimming were in Sheffield competing at the BUCS Short Course (25m), and two weekends after that we will be in Norwich at the BUCS Team Champs competition. CIYK last month was a great success with many of the new members initiated! Recently we have acquired two sponsorships with the Monkey’s Forehead and Medicine, ...